I could never have imagined that he would one day Matthew would learn to speak and advocate for himself, and that other adults with autism like him would not only do the same, but also take a stand in policy that concerns them.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight and Government Reform Committee is planning a November 29 meeting on rising autism rates (One in 88 children has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by age 8, the CDC reported in March, a dramatic increase from its previous estimates) and the federal government’s response.

…except for advocacy groups run by autistics, such as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), whose slogan is”Nothing About Us Without Us”. They have issued the following statement about the upcoming hearings:

We’re profoundly concerned by the decision by the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform to convene a hearing on autism next week without the inclusion of any Autistic witnesses or representatives from organizations run by Autistic people. Just like the house contraceptive hearing without women earlier this year, we’re once again seeing a hearing about a population without any representatives from those most directly impacted. We strongly urge the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform to reconsider and work with organizations run by Autistic people to ensure our community is represented in these deliberations.

“As an autistic and as the mother of an autistic,” say’s Carol Greenburg, one of the ediitors at Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, “I feel an urgent need to help correct the errors of the past with my own testimony, and the testimony of other autistics, if not in person, then otherwise entered into the record of this meeting, as it seems unlikely that autistics’ needs will be accurately conveyed without input from autistics themselves.”

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